diff --git a/go/vt/vtgate/vstream_manager_test.go b/go/vt/vtgate/vstream_manager_test.go
index 96665b38c30..0ea4e6fd68f 100644
--- a/go/vt/vtgate/vstream_manager_test.go
+++ b/go/vt/vtgate/vstream_manager_test.go
@@ -498,11 +498,11 @@ func TestVStreamsMetricsErrors(t *testing.T) {
 	const wantErr = "Invalid arg message"
 	sbc0.AddVStreamEvents(nil, vterrors.Errorf(vtrpcpb.Code_INVALID_ARGUMENT, wantErr))
 
-	send1 := []*binlogdatapb.VEvent{
+	expectedEvents := []*binlogdatapb.VEvent{
 		{Type: binlogdatapb.VEventType_GTID, Gtid: "gtid02"},
 		{Type: binlogdatapb.VEventType_COMMIT, Timestamp: 10, CurrentTime: 17 * 1e9},
 	}
-	sbc1.AddVStreamEvents(send1, nil)
+	sbc1.AddVStreamEvents(expectedEvents, nil)
 
 	vgtid := &binlogdatapb.VGtid{
 		ShardGtids: []*binlogdatapb.ShardGtid{{
@@ -516,32 +516,52 @@ func TestVStreamsMetricsErrors(t *testing.T) {
 		}},
 	}
 
-	vstreamCtx, vstreamCancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
-	defer vstreamCancel()
-
 	results := make([]*binlogdatapb.VStreamResponse, 0)
-	err := vsm.VStream(vstreamCtx, topodatapb.TabletType_PRIMARY, vgtid, nil, &vtgatepb.VStreamFlags{}, func(events []*binlogdatapb.VEvent) error {
-		results = append(results, &binlogdatapb.VStreamResponse{Events: events})
 
-		if len(results) == 2 {
-			// We should never actually see 2 responses come in
-			vstreamCancel()
+	var err error
+	ch := make(chan *binlogdatapb.VStreamResponse)
+	wg := sync.WaitGroup{}
+	wg.Add(2)
+	go func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
+		for res := range ch {
+			results = append(results, res)
 		}
+	}()
+	func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
 
-		return nil
-	})
+		err = vsm.VStream(ctx, topodatapb.TabletType_PRIMARY, vgtid, nil, &vtgatepb.VStreamFlags{}, func(events []*binlogdatapb.VEvent) error {
+			ch <- &binlogdatapb.VStreamResponse{Events: events}
+			return nil
+		})
+		close(ch)
+	}()
+	wg.Wait()
+
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.ErrorContains(t, err, wantErr)
 
-	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), wantErr) {
-		require.ErrorContains(t, err, wantErr)
+	// Because there's essentially a race condition between the two streams,
+	// we may get 0 or 1 results, depending on whether the error from
+	// sbc0 or the events from sbc1 come first.
+	require.LessOrEqual(t, len(results), 1)
+	if len(results) == 1 {
+		require.Len(t, results[0].Events, 2)
 	}
 
-	expectedLabels1 := "TestVStream.-20.PRIMARY"
-	expectedLabels2 := "TestVStream.20-40.PRIMARY"
+	// When we verify the metrics, we should see that the -20 stream had an error,
+	// while the 20-40 stream might have one too (if the error from -20 came first),
+	// or might not (if the events from 20-40 came first).
+	// So we only verify the -20 metrics exactly, while the 20-40 metrics are
+	// verified to be at least 0 or 1 as appropriate.
+
+	errorCounts := vsm.vstreamsEndedWithErrors.Counts()
+	require.Contains(t, errorCounts, "TestVStream.-20.PRIMARY")
+	require.Contains(t, errorCounts, "TestVStream.20-40.PRIMARY")
 
-	wantVStreamsEndedWithErrors := make(map[string]int64)
-	wantVStreamsEndedWithErrors[expectedLabels1] = 1
-	wantVStreamsEndedWithErrors[expectedLabels2] = 0
-	assert.Equal(t, wantVStreamsEndedWithErrors, vsm.vstreamsEndedWithErrors.Counts(), "vstreamsEndedWithErrors matches")
+	require.Equal(t, int64(1), errorCounts["TestVStream.-20.PRIMARY"])
+	require.LessOrEqual(t, errorCounts["TestVStream.20-40.PRIMARY"], int64(1))
 }
 
 func TestVStreamErrorInCallback(t *testing.T) {